A crewmember who sustains injuries while at work is at liberty of being given “maintenance and cure” for the injuries suffered. The terms cure and maintenance are, in most occasions, used together even though they have varied benefits.
Maintenance, in this context, may be defined as the allowance paid to any crewmember for lodging and food. Cure, on the other hand, may be defined as the right a crewmember has to hospital, nursing, doctor or other forms of medical attention in the event of injuries or illnesses that may be attributed to working at the ship and especially while ashore (Mortimore, 2012).
The recent Carnival Triumph incident is a typical example of a liability case involving a crewmember. The ship crewmember in question sustained injuries while manually raising a machine that would have otherwise been lifted mechanically if the ship was in its rightful condition. In this scenario, it is important to take into close consideration the liabilities and duties of boat or ship repairers. A ship repairer is supposed to be under strict obligations to apply reasonable care while in the process of repairing the ship.
If reasonable care is used and the worker sustains injuries, the boat owner become solely liable for the damages or injuries obtained. On the other hand, in the event that a ship crewmember sustains injuries after failing to use reasonable care, he becomes liable for any damages or injuries sustained.
Additionally, if faulty components are installed by a boat repairer, he becomes liable for the damages that might be caused as a result of his negligence (International Labor Organization., Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues, et al, 2001).
In the case of Carnival Triumph, the crewmember was solely responsible for the injuries he sustained. This is because even though the ship was not in its rightful condition for the mechanical lift to function, he intentionally neglected the fact that the load that hurt him was supposed to be mechanically lifted. For this reason, the owner of the ship on which the ship repairer was working has absolutely no liability for the damages caused.
However, the ship’s owner may only be liable for the injuries sustained by the ship crewmember if they both had signed a legally binding agreement in prior to make the owner of the ship liable for damages that would result from working on a faulty ship. In this case, there were no previous agreements hence the ship crewmember is liable for his injuries (Basedow, Wurmnest, and International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs, 2005).
Knowledge is power. Most ship crewmembers are always unaware of the harms that may result from the negligence of their employers, their fellow employees or even by unseaworthy conditions. As a result, they never get the compensations they deserve in the event of an accident.
In most occasions, such injuries come as a result of doing things like they have always been done while oblivious of a longstanding faulty condition of the vessel. Such conditions include poorly maintained winches or even bent ladders. It is, therefore, imperative that comprehensive inspections are done by the repairers of ships themselves before they embark on the actual renovation process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, therefore, crewmembers are obliged to know their rights in relation to injuries that might be sustained aboard. That notwithstanding, the crewmembers are supposed to be aware of the dangers that might be associated with working with faulty equipments. This should be done in order to stay away from avoidable trouble.
References
Basedow, J., Wurmnest, W., & International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs. (2005). Third-party liability of classification societies: A comparative perspective. Berlin: Springer.
International Labor Organization., Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues., & Joint ILO/IMO Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on Liability and Compensation Regarding Claims for Death, Personal Injury and Abandonment of Seafarers. (2001). Joint ILO/IMO Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on Liability and Compensation Regarding Claims for Death, Personal Injury and Abandonment of Seafarers: Report for discussion at the 29th Session of the Joint Maritime Commission, Geneva, 2001. Geneva: ILO.
Mortimore, S. (2012). Company directors: Duties, liabilities, and remedies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.